Thursday, September 30, 2010

Here is the latest version of this set. This new stand is bigger and more stable. It has to fit a new, more powerful and adjustable burner that is now now able to bring the 1 liter kettle to a boil within 15 minutes (provided you use a denaturated alcohol with a high alcohol content%).

This may still seem long in our fast world, but a Cha Xi is not a race, on the contrary. 15 minutes is about right to decide which tea you want to taste, prepare your accessories in accordance, smell the dry leaves, observe their characteristics and calm down.

Here is how it works:- Left. Position is open. Flame is biggest to heat the water,- Middle. Position is closed. Less air means a small flame to keep the water warm.- Right. Cover is on. This stops the flame. (It's also OK to put the cover on the flame air flow adjuster.)

BEWARE: Hot water and fire are dangerous and can cause painful burns. Be careful and focused when you handle a kettle. Don't let kids play with it.

The water from this ceramic kettle is lighter than from my iron tetsubin. That's the reason why I use it more with unroasted Oolongs or green tea.

Friday, September 24, 2010

My children (7 and 5 years old) are often still in a playful and excited mood when I call them to eat. Then, they find it difficult to remain seated and focus on their meal. Arguing, threatening and punishing didn't work. So, lately, I have started to experience with saying Graces. While not a 'miracle' solution, I found that the prayer helped them to calm down and put their attention on the food on the table, at least for a while.

If Graces work with children before a meal, then they may also work with adults before making tea. Merely calling a higher power creates a presence. For exemple, if I mention an elephant, you'll have difficulty not to think of and visualize an elephant now. (Or could you not think of an elephant?)

This holy presence adds something serious and deep to this moment. When the boss/master comes in the room, we behave our best. We also calm down in the presence of the divine.

As we start to enjoy our tea and focus on its many pleasures, we do feel blessed and fortunate to make this experience. It may sometimes feel selfish to be so happy. Having thanked in advance, in the Grace, helps me to diminish or even eliminate this guilty feeling.

This 'trick' may not work with everyone, but, like Pascal's gambit about the existence of God, there's not much to loose in trying!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

This year's fall season in Taiwan is very particular and interesting. The first typhoon of the year hit the island 2 days ago, Sunday, September 19th. This means that there was no typhoon with excessive water during the whole summer. Secondly, the night temperatures have been unusually cool for the season. This kind of conditions are similar to winter weather and are very suitable for high mountain Oolong.

The dry leaves have a fresh, dark green color with hints of yellow. Stems and white buds are visible. The fragrance is like young peach.

The brew is yellow, very clear with very little residue.

The open leaves include many buds. (See the circles in the picture on the left). The small and tender leaves are bitten by insects, a good sign of absence of pesiticides. The larger leaves are flexible (not too old) but very thick. The slightly red edges point to a slightly higher oxidation level.

The fragrance is light fruity, mostly peach and apricot with some traces of cereals and a hint of wasabi (!). The smell has the finesse and intensity of high mountain Oolong.

The taste is very well balanced, sweet with just a little fruity astringency on the tongue. Good concentration level. The mouth starts to salivate and the aftertaste keeps on unfolding, layer by layer. So sweet!

This Fall Shan Lin Shi Oolong is very good. Brewed with 'gongfu' in an appropriate teapot, it is even better! Lighter aromas come to life with shorter brewing times. Then, it can really be hard to distinguish its autumn origin. For those who long for the best deal on Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong, this is it! (Fall Oolongs are almost half the price of Spring harvests, and this year their quality is very close to winter Oolongs).

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Taiwan's summer is hot and humid. This is considered a good thing to age raw puerh. However, excessive moisture may also end up creating storage off smells. So, now that the weather is becoming drier, I air my puerhs next to my window. I do this one kind of puerh at a time, so that their smells don't mix up. I will take longer to air a tong than single cakes.

Regular checks of a puerh collection take time and effort. But it's also a pleasure to touch and smell a puerh collection, especially after summer. It also provides an important feedback about which leaves are doing best and which are flat.

Now, the whole rooms is filled with this nice woody, fruity and sweet fragrance!

Europe and North America may be better places to age Oolong than Puerh!... But if you try to age puerh in a cooler and drier climate, you may want to air your cakes not on a dry day, but on a humid day! I would also try to leave my stash in a sealed box, to avoid the loss of humidity. And I would recommend to store it in a warm room, but not under direct sunlight (which would dry the leaves). Most importantly, check your puerh regularly and make changes according to what you smell and feel. At the end, it's YOU who are going to drink it!

Friday, September 10, 2010

This old Baozhong is a mix of several batches from the mid 1970s. (Most of the leaves are from 1976.) These are leaves that didn't sell within their season. They were put aside when the new harvests arrived, making space for fresher leaves. The tea merchant would roast them from time to time to get rid of excess moisture. The roasting also serves to create new and stronger flavors that many older Taiwanese drinkers like.

After over 30 years of repeated roastings, the dry leaves appear very dark, either black or brown. The scent is unlike fresh tea, somewhere between brandy and Chinese medicine. It's almost like smelling liquor!The brew has a good transparency and clarity. Its brown color is appealing to the eye.

Old wood, Chinese medicine, chocolate... Many dark and deep flavors can be found in this tea. They last long. The taste is calm and sweet. The longer the brew, the more body and concentration come out. Old teas love long infusion times. This reminds me of a story Teaparker likes to tell us. At one of his first encounters with old tea, the young Teaparker was once scolded by an old merchant. While the old leaves were brewing, the merchant kept on talking and seemed to have forgotten the tea. Teaparker asked if it was time for the brew to be released in the cups. "Young man, we could talk the whole night and only pour the tea tomorrow morning, it would still be delicious!"

For my Cha Xi, I use my Yixing hungni Shi Piao teapot, my 'ivory' white cups and tea boat. The Cha Bu is a Japanese kimono belt. Its elegance and warm colors go hand in hand with this old Baozhong.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Some teas have the power to put us in awe. Whaooh! A tea can be THAT good! So pure, so deep, so fine... I had this feeling when I encountered this tea (scroll down in the post) 3 years ago.

The multicolor, tiny dry leaves of Oriental Beauty are so delicate. The dry leaves' fragrance goes beyond tea in the realm of feminine perfumes. 3 years later, the smell has added more depth, but shed some of its fresh 'bite'. It's less shine, more substance and calm. It's changing.

I use my smallest 'ivory' white gaiwan to get its true taste and reduce the amount of leaves I'm brewing. The red kimono belt provides a matching background for this highly oxidized Oolong. The open leaves are magnificient:

The taste is still very pure, sweet and light. The fragrance of the brew is a little darker, but its refinement still makes me go 'hmmmmm'! The first brews are particularly amazing.

Some of my readers had the opportunity to purchase this 'perfect' Oriental Beauty 3 years ago. If you are one of them and are interested to taste how it evolved, I still have some left to share with the first 5 people to contact me. (Price and quantity are the same as 3 years ago).